The Peanut Butter Incident

If you’re going to blow a lead in game, don’t let it be on a free giveaway night. That’s usually the rule. And if it’s not a rule, it should be. I have no idea if whoever was in charge of game day giveaways had this sort of thought process back in 1993. However, if they did, you couldn’t blame them for going ahead with it, there was bigger of a ‘gimmie’ in the NHL at that time than the Ottawa Senators.

The Sens were awful back in 1993. It was their second season in the NHL and their freshman campaign saw them manage only 10-wins and 24 points. So you have to figure there is no safer night to hand out free peanut butter than an early November game against the visiting Senators from Ottawa. But this was the Jets of old. The team that’s unofficial game plan was to always play down to the quality of their opponents.

So let’s go back to November 5, 1993. It was the third ever meeting between the Jets and Senators. The first two meetings came in the previous season with a 4-4 tie in Ottawa and a 6-3 Jets win in Winnipeg. The Sens arrived in Winnipeg with a 3-6-2 record to take on the host Jets who were 6-6-1. The Jets at the time were on a three-game losing streak, but hey, there’s no better slump buster than the Ottawa Senator, right?

The Jets 1.0 got off to a great start leading the Sens 6-3. The Senators scored three unanswered goals to even up the score, including the game-tying goal coming with just 26-seconds left in the third period. Bob Kudelski, having scored two goals in the game already, including the buzzer-beating game-tying goal, added a third in overtime for the hat-trick and the win to complete the Senators comeback.

The only thing Winnipeggers love more than a great deal is free stuff. So for fans to part with the free peanut butter they were given when they entered the building tells you the fans were irate. And that’s just what they did as peanut butter littered the ice; no doubt leaving the Zamboni driver in a jam.

What an unfortunate thing to happen on free peanut butter night!

For thoughts on the Jets, the NHL and things irreverent follow me on Twitter: @davec4pone

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Born and raised Winnipegger. A life long Jets fan, as well as a Pop-Culture and sports junkie.
For thoughts on the Winnipeg Jets, the NHL and things irreverent follow him on Twitter.